Ari Aster (born July 15, 1986) is an American filmmaker. His films are noted for their unsettling combination ofdark comedy,horror, andgraphic violence. After garnering some recognition for writing and directing the short horror filmThe Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011) as part of his studies at theAFI Conservatory, he became widely known for writing and directing the horror filmsHereditary (2018) andMidsommar (2019), establishing himself in the genre ofelevated horror.
Aster co-founded the production company Square Peg with Danish producerLars Knudsen in 2019. He pivoted away from horror by writing, directing, and producing the surrealist comedy-drama filmBeau Is Afraid (2023) and the satirical neo-Western thriller filmEddington (2025). Both films received positive reviews but failed to recoup their budgets at the box office.
Ari Aster was born to Jewish parents inPrinceton, New Jersey on July 15, 1986. The family moved toNew York City when Ari was about a week old. His mother was a poet and his father was a jazz musician.[1] He has a younger brother.[2] He sawDick Tracy (1990) when he was four years old, later recalling that he jumped from his seat and ran "six New York City blocks" while his mother chased him after seeing the scene in whichWarren Beatty's titular protagonist fired a machine gun in front of a wall of fire.[3] He spent some of his childhood in England, where his father opened a jazz nightclub inChester.[4] The family returned to the U.S. when he was 10 years old and settled inSanta Fe, New Mexico, where he spent the rest of his childhood.[4][5][6] He described himself as a "fat kid with a stutter" who felt alienated and was kicked out ofSanta Fe Preparatory School.[7] He was obsessed with films,Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, andHastings Video Store.[8]
Originally aspiring to become an author, Aster became interested in filmmaking through screenwriting, and wrote six feature-length screenplays during high school even though he would not begin actually making films until college.[9] As a child, he became obsessed withhorror films and frequently rented them from local video stores: "I just exhausted the horror section of every video store I could find. I didn't know how to assemble people who would cooperate on something like that [so] I found myself just writing screenplays."[3] In 2004, he began studying film at theSanta Fe University of Art and Design, where he made several short films and wrote for the localWeekly Alibi arts magazine.[10] He graduated in 2008 and debuted as the writer and director of the short filmTale of Two Tims,[11] which he submitted to theAmerican Film Institute (AFI). This led to him being accepted into the 2010 class of theAFI Conservatory's graduate program, where he earned anMFA with a focus in directing.[12][13][14]
After graduating from theAFI Conservatory, Aster wrote and directed several more short films between 2011 and 2018, often teaming with his AFI Conservatory friends Alejandro de Leon andPawel Pogorzelski. The most notable project was the shortpsychological horror filmThe Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011), which follows the members of a suburban family in which the father finds himself trapped in anincestuous relationship with his abusive son. The film was Aster'sthesis film while studying at the AFI Conservatory,[15] and was later screened at film festivals; it premiered at theSlamdance Film Festival in Utah on January 22 before leaking online in November, where it wentviral. Film website Short of the Week wrote that the comments on the film'sYouTube page had "everything from effusive acclaim to disgusted vitriol [...] in terms of the internet, that means it's a hit".[16] Aster worked on the film with fellow AFI students. He first conceived the story while discussing taboos with his friends, including the film's star Brandon Greenhouse, before starting his first year at AFI.[14]
Aster made hisfeature-length directorial debut when he wrote and directed thesupernatural horror filmHereditary (2018), which follows a family haunted by a mysterious presence after the death of their secretive grandmother. The film premiered in the Midnight section at that year'sSundance Film Festival,[17] and was theatrically released in the United States on June 8.[18] It was acclaimed by critics, withToni Collette's performance receiving particular praise, and was a commercial success; it grossed over $80 million on a $10 million budget, becomingA24's highest-grossing film worldwide.[19]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone named it the scariest film of 2018.[20]
Aster next wrote and directed thefolk horror filmMidsommar (2019), which was also produced by A24.[21] It follows a group of American university students who travel to Sweden for a festival that occurs once every 90 years and find themselves in the clutches of a cult claiming to practisepaganism.Midsommar was theatrically released in the United States on July 3. The film received positive reviews from critics, with many praising Aster's direction andFlorence Pugh's performance.[22][23] Aster's original 171-minute cut of the film, which A24 asked him to trim down for a wide theatrical release, had its world premiere at theFilm Society of Lincoln Center in New York City as part of its Scary Movies XII lineup on August 20.[24] For his work on the film, Aster received a nomination forBest Screenplay at the29th Gotham Independent Film Awards.[25]
In June 2019, Aster and Danish producerLars Knudsen announced that they had launched a new production company called Square Peg.[26] In June 2020, Aster said his next film would be a "nightmare comedy" that lasts for four hours.[27] In February 2021, A24 announced that Aster would write and directBeau Is Afraid (2023) as its third partnership with him. The film follows an anxiety-fueled and paranoid middle-aged man who must venture out on a surreal odyssey to visit his mother's home.[28][29] It was originally titledDisappointment Blvd.[30] It was released in theaters on April 21.[30] The film received mixed reviews, with some critics and viewers praising Aster's direction andJoaquin Phoenix's performance while deriding its length and story, but the film was not a commercial success as it earned around $10 million at the box office against a budget of $35 million.[31] It ultimately lost the studio over $35 million.[32] Speaking about the film's critical and commercial shortcomings, Aster said in 2025: "I was pretty sad that it was so maligned […] it was a bummer. It lost money. Critically, I wouldn’t say it was reviled, there’s just no consensus whatsoever... There are things that I would do differently if I did it now... I think I ejected a number of people from the theater with that [last hour]."[33][34]
Aster wrote and directed theneo-Westernpolitical satire filmEddington (2025), which was co-produced by A24 and Square Peg. Set in 2020 during theCOVID-19 pandemic andGeorge Floyd protests, the film examines the political and social turmoil in the fictional town of Eddington,New Mexico caused by the contested mayoral election fought between the county sheriff and the town's mayor.[38][39][40] The film debuted on May 16, 2025, in competition at theCannes Film Festival.[41] It was released in theaters on July 18.[39] It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its ambition but found its satirical elements lacking.[42]
Aster and Hertzfeldt are collaborating on an animated feature film calledAntarctica, described by Hertzfeldt as "big" and "very expensive".[49][50][51]
Aster's work is frequently noted for its exploration of grief, family trauma, psychological deterioration, and societal taboos.[52] His early films such asThe Strange Thing About the Johnsons andHereditary delve into the dysfunction and repressed tensions within families, often blending horror with psychological drama.[53]
His distinct visual style often juxtaposes daylight and horror, especially notable inMidsommar, where unsettling events unfold in bright, pastoral settings. Aster has cited a deep interest in "emotional horror"—films that unsettle not through jump scares but through existential dread and the collapse of personal identity.[54]
Recurring motifs include cult behavior, ritualism, and the collapse of individual agency in the face of communal or inherited forces.[55] His work is also known for long takes, meticulous mise-en-scène, and a blend of slow-burn pacing with sudden, graphic violence.[56]
^abcdKleinman, Jake (July 3, 2019)."For Midsommar Director Ari Aster, Scaring You Is Just the Beginning".Inverse. RetrievedApril 14, 2025.The next thing I'm thinking about doing is kind of anabsurdist dark comedy. I have a big Sirkian melodrama that I'm really excited about, too. I've got aWestern and a sci-fi film that I've been building. I really want to do a musical. I haven't written one yet, but I love musicals. And I've got this gangster saga epic.
^Horowitz, Josh (July 16, 2019)."Ari Aster - Happy Sad Confused" (Podcast).Happy Sad Confused. Event occurs at 47:29. RetrievedApril 14, 2025 – viaApple Podcasts.There's one sci-fi satire, sort of an ensemble satire—satire being a very dirty word. I should find another word for it. [...] But that will be expensive.
^abcFennessey, Sean (July 18, 2025)."Ari Aster's Eddington Is a Mirror. Like What You See? | The Big Picture"(video) (Podcast). Ringer Movies. Event occurs at 1:45:24, 1:51:51. RetrievedJuly 21, 2025 – viaYouTube.Yeah, I've got sort of like a sequel I've been cooking up forEddington. I've got a horror movie that I'm interested in doing. There's a sci-fi film that's sort of an adaptation that I'm thinking about. [...] Well, the [Eddington] sequel... we'll see. It's not really a sequel, but there are returning characters.
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